


Signal Fire

by HushTheNoise



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Awkward Riku, Keyblade Academy AU, M/M, Mutual Pining, Riku gets a crush and doesn't know what to do with it, Slow Burn, so basically the usual
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-12-06 22:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18226169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HushTheNoise/pseuds/HushTheNoise
Summary: Riku thought his second year of training at the keyblade academy would be pretty uneventful. And then he met bouncy, outgoing Sora who has other plans.A Soriku Keyblade Academy AU, full of pining, heartache, slow burn, and Riku being a whole awkward.





	Signal Fire

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to the anon who sent in this request!

 

The sound of excited chatter and swinging doors drifted up and down the marble hall as Riku slid the last of his books onto a mahogany bookshelf, flattening an empty box and storing it under his bed. He’d almost finished moving back into his room after the summer holiday, though as short as it felt, he wished they would have just let him stay moved in. Thankfully, he didn’t have a lot to unpack and store, having learned to keep his possession light and few as he bounced through foster homes during his 17 years.

With a sigh, he dropped onto his bed, turquoise gaze trained at the ceiling. This was his second year at Scala, and somehow it felt like time was passing both too quickly and too slowly. He’d be taking his Mark of Mastery exam before he knew it, and then… Well, he’d deal with that when he got to it. But there were whispers of worlds vanishing, and he’d heard that the King was getting ready to send a team of keyblade masters out to assess the situation.

It was too early for him to even be thinking about it, but there was a whole massive universe out there waiting to be explored, and he’d spent too long yearning to see it…

A short, red-headed girl poked her head through this open doorway, peering around the room until her eyes landed on Riku, still sprawled on the bed.

“Hey, you almost done?” she asked, leaning against the doorway as Riku glanced over. “I could use your help putting my fan together.”  

Riku sat up, giving her a smile as he met her at the door. “Yeah, I don’t have much left. But I thought after all the trouble we went through last year, you might have actually remembered how to put that monstrosity together,” he said, shutting his door and locking it.

Kairi made a face as they made their way through the dormitory halls, students chattering and hurrying from room to room as they worked to catch up with friends and get their spaces ready for the new year. “I accidentally broke one of the pieces, I thought maybe you could help me figure out a good replacement— Oh, hi Sora!”

Riku turned his head to follow her gaze and saw a perky brunet making his way down the hall, an over-sized box precariously balanced in his arms.

“Hey, Kairi!” Sora said cheerfully, voice a little strained from the weight of the box. It looked stuffed to the brim with supplies and books. “Are we still on for the tour later?”

“You bet,” Kairi replied as they carefully maneuvered around Sora and the other residents of the hall.

One of the students didn’t quite manage to get out of Sora’s way quickly enough and clipped a corner of the box, causing it to teeter as Sora let out a cry. Without thinking, Riku lunched forward and reached for it, steadying the container and letting Sora adjust his grip around it before the contents— and Sora— could go spilling on the ground.

Sora heaved a sigh of relief as he turned to look at Riku with the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. “Thanks, that was almost pretty bad!” he said with a laugh that lit up his face like sunshine. “Are you busy?  I could probably use some help…”

“Sorry, Riku’s already spoken for,” Kairi interjected playfully as she grabbed Riku’s arm and tugged him away. “I hear Tidus finished unpacking a half hour ago, you should go ask him for help.”

“Fiiiiine,” Sora replied with a huff, before continuing to make his way down the hall. “I’ll see you later!”

Riku turned to watch him go as Kairi pulled him in direction of her room again. “Is he new?” he asked, as casually as he could possibly muster and relatively sure that Kairi could still see right through him.

“He was in my orientation group this morning. He’s actually really nice and funny,”  she said as they entered her hallway. They reached her door and she pressed a palm against the dark, smoky glass, watching it vanish an instant later to admit them inside. “I’m sure you’d like him, if you had a sense of humor.”

“Hey, I have a sense of humor, _your_ jokes just aren’t funny,” Riku said tartly, though there was a grin at the corner of his lips as Kairi gave him a light shove.

“Okay, just for that you get to put together my bookshelves, too,” she replied with a laugh.

It was good to be home again.

*****

The more or less obligatory Welcome Back 'party' that took place every year was really more like a subdued get-together where everyone caught up on the things that had happened to them over the summer. It was also a great time for the newly minted keyblade wielders to introduce themselves and make friends with those who would help strengthen them over the three years of their training.

Riku had never felt at ease at these social functions and often found himself wandering over to those who looked just as uncomfortable as he felt. There was something reassuring in feeling out of place together.

“Really? We’re going on our second year and you two are still acting like wall-flowers?” asked a blonde boy, Ventus, as he sidled over to where Riku leaned against a wall. A smaller blonde girl sat hunched in a chair next to him, sketchbook open in her lap and markers gliding gently over the paper.

“What wallflower thing? I’m having a chat with Naminé,” Riku said nonchalantly as he folded his arms over his chest.

“Hm?” asked Naminé, looking up for the first time in ten minutes and blinking wide blue eyes at Riku. “Oh, hey Riku. When did you get here?”

Ventus laughed, clapping a hand on Riku’s shoulder as the other boy groaned. “Well, it’s great to see you guys again. All done moving in?”

“More or less,” said Riku, thinking of the boxes of clothing still left to unpack. “Kairi drafted me to help her finish unpacking, and I ran late.”

“I’m still unpacking my art supplies,” Naminé confessed, tapping the marker against her notebook. “I’m almost done with everything else, though.”

Ventus waved at one of his other friends across the room, gesturing to them to wait there before turning his attention back to Riku and Naminé. “Yeah, I figured. I’m not done either, I was late getting here today.”

He glanced around the room. “I actually haven’t seen Kairi yet, is she at the party?”

Riku gestured somewhere towards a thick circle of people lingering on the opposite end of the ballroom. “She’s somewhere in there, I think.”

Ventus brightened. “Cool! I’ll go say hi. See you later, Riku! Naminé!”

Riku watched him go, frowning faintly. “Wallflowers?”

Naminé gave him a soft smile. “We could probably stand to make some more friends,” she told him, an old tune he’d heard from Kairi before too. “Hey, I hate to bother you, but could you get me something to drink?”

“Yeah, sure. Sit tight!” he said, lightly pushing himself off the wall and heading for the punch table.

With the party underway for about an hour now, the drinks table had cleared out and so had most of the finger foods that had been set out. Riku picked up a cup, delicate plastic made to look like sparkling glass, and filled it with a clear blue liquid from the punch bowl.

“Haha, yeah I’ll be right there— Oh!”

Without warning, someone ran into him, causing Riku to almost lose his grip on the cup. Thankfully, it didn’t go flying, but punch sloshes and spilled over the rim, drenching his hand and staining not only his shirt but the white tablecloth.  

Looking at the perpetrator, he realized it was that guy from earlier. Sora?

“Oh, man, I’m so sorry,” said Sora, reaching for a napkin as Riku set the cup down and gently shook liquid off his hand. “Here, let me…” He began to dab at the stain on Riku’s chest with single-minded determination, blue eyes apologetic.

“It’s fine, I’ve got it,” said Riku, completely bewildered and blushing faintly as he plucked the napkin from Sora’s hand and tried to mitigate the worst of the stain.

“Right, yeah, sorry,” Sora replied with a self-conscious laugh. “I probably should have looked to see where I was going. That was probably a perfectly good cup of punch.”

“I think ‘good’ is a little generous. I’ve had the punch, you’re better off drinking water,” said Riku, tossing the napkins in the nearby trash can. The shirt was a lost cause for the night, but the stain wouldn’t be permanent by any means.

“Then why were you getting some?” Sora asked, brow furrowing.

“Oh, my friend likes it,” he replied, and Sora grinned.

“I guess not everyone around here has the good taste you do,” he said playfully. Riku blushed again, this time from embarrassment.

“I didn’t… I mean, if you like it…” he stammered, but Sora reached for one of the bottles of water on the table.

“I think I can trust your judgment,” he said, cracking the bottle open and taking a swig. “We met this afternoon, right? I’m Sora.”

“Riku,” replied Riku, still flustered but glad Sora didn’t seem to think he was a jerk. He reached down and refilled another cup as Sora caught the eye of a friend from across the room, abruptly recalling that he was supposed to go meet them.

“Oh, right, I better go… See ya later, Riku!” he said, giving a small wave as he turned to go. “Sorry about your shirt! Let me know if I need to pay for dry cleaning or anything.”

“Sure,” said Riku, a little dumbstruck as he watched him go. And then he caught himself, shaking his head. The year’s only started, and he’s never been one to get distracted but Sora… It could be worth getting to know him, right?

*****

“Riku, come on we’re gonna be late!” said Kairi as she knocked forcefully on his door until Riku groaned, rolling out of bed.

The year had started uneventfully enough and Riku had thrown himself into his coursework and training with renewed vigor, grateful to have the steady routine of the academy life again. At least for now. His weekends were spent catching up from all the long nights of practicing and studying during the week, which was unfortunate when Kairi got it into her head to go on an outing during that exact time. Like this Blitzball match Kairi was trying to drag him off to…

He trudged to the door, sleeping shirt lopsided on his frame as he opened it to find Kairi there, fresh-faced and ready to take on the world. Where she got the energy, he’d never know.

“Can I help you?” he asked, looking ready to shut the door in her face and go back to bed.

“We’re supposed to be at the match in fifteen minutes!” Kairi said, shoving past him and into the bedroom without an invitation. “And you look like you just woke up!”

“That’s because I did,” grumbled Riku, shutting the door and throwing himself back onto the bed.

“Look, you can’t just be a keyblade hermit, you need to go out and actually, you know, do things!” she protested, rifling through the clothes in his closet.

“That’s what graduation’s for.”

“In two years? Come on. Here, wear this, it’s cute,” she said, tossing a pair of black jeans, a grey shirt, and a leather jacket on top of him on the bed. “Get dressed. I’ll even buy you breakfast at the cafe on the way.”

“Ugh. Fine, give me five minutes,” said Riku finally, pushing himself to sit up as she headed out the door.

“Five minutes or I break this door down!” she threatened.

Riku shook his head and reached for his shirt with a sigh.

*****

The stadium was surprisingly packed for such an early match, and Kairi spent a good two minutes searching the stands for whoever they were supposed to meet there. Finally, she grabbed Riku’s wrist and dragged him in the direction of a figure waving at them…  It took Riku a moment, but he finally recognized the spiky head of brown hair as belonging to Sora, looking comfortable but stylish dressed down in a light jacket and a v-neck. Suddenly, Riku wished he’d made more of an effort on his appearance that morning.

“Sora! Thanks for saving our seats!” said Kairi as she dropped down onto the bleachers next to the brunet, with Riku taking the seat next to hers. He folded into himself a little, feeling awkwardly out of place among the excited crowd. This wasn’t the sort of think he usually went to unless Kairi was dragging him to it because one of her friends was involved. He wasn’t sure why she dragged him there today, actually. Nobody he knew was playing at in the match.

“Thanks for coming!” Sora said brightly as Kairi reached over and swiped a pretzel bite from the half-full container he held. “I know Hayner’s going to be really happy to have all these people cheering for him.”

“Hayner’s another first year, but he made it onto the team,” Kairi helpfully explained to Riku. Ah, so they were there because of Sora’s friend… Which still didn’t explain why he was dragged along, but maybe it wouldn’t be too bad.

“This is actually the first Blitzball match I’ve ever been to,” Sora said, squinting his eyes to try and spot his friend out in the water. “Do you guys come to these often?”

“I do sometimes, mostly to hang out with friends,” Kairi replied, already on the look-out to see who else made it.

“What about you, Riku?” Sora asked, leaning forward to get Riku’s attention. The older student blinked, taken aback by Sora’s sudden attention.

“Uh… No, I don’t really… do this,” he replied weakly, before clearing his throat. “I’m more of a sleep-in-on-the-weekends kinda guy.”

“Oh,” said Sora with a slight tilt of his head. “Well, it was really nice of you to give up sleep to come here.”

“Yeah, no problem,” said Riku, before Kairi blissfully let him off the hook with a funny story from the past week that Sora hadn’t heard yet.

He’d never been one to trip over his words, but Sora somehow made it difficult to string together a full sentence without feeling like an idiot.

As the match went on, Riku lost more and more interest in what was happening, but Kairi bought them a round of snacks and drinks, and Sora’s cheerful presence went a long way towards keeping things from feeling like a drag. Although Riku stayed on the outskirts of the conversation most of the time, Sora and Kairi seemed to be really hitting it off, laughing and cheering and acting like old friends.

It wasn’t an odd thing by any means; Kairi was always great at making friends, and Sora seemed capable of getting along with literally anyone. But then Kairi leaned in, murmuring something to Sora in a low voice that made the brunet blush. He nudged her with his shoulder before laughing brightly again, and Riku felt his heart drop like a stone.

_Ah_ , he thought, trying not to feel too let down over the loss of something that never stood a chance to begin with. _I guess they’d be good together._

He spent the rest of the match lost in thought, Sora’s several curious glances towards him going unnoticed.

*****

“Wow, what a great match!” said Sora as he, Riku, and Kairi made their way back to the dorms after the game. “I mean, I didn’t understand most of what was happening, but it was really exciting!”

Riku stifled a small laugh, having started to learn that that seemed to be Sora’s method of going through life. He might not have understood everything that was happening, but he was intensely enthusiastic about it nonetheless. It was kind of endearing, really.

“Yeah, Hayner was really good!” said Kairi, her arm looped through Sora’s as they walked down the cobblestone pathways. “He proved a lot of people wrong today.”

“He’s got a really strong technique,” chimed in Riku, hands in his pockets to warm them. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s captain by his third year.”

“You think so?” said Sora, beaming almost as if Riku had complimented _him_. “He’ll be really excited to hear it. Thank you guys for coming to the match with me today, I had a lot of fun.”

“Us, too!” said Kairi with a wide smile, reaching out to loop her other arm through Riku’s, the three of them forming a small chain. “It’s hard to get this one out of his room, so I’m glad for any excuse.”

Riku blushed, but Sora seemed pleased.

“I’ll make sure to find other excuses for you, then,” he said, shooting Riku a bright smile that left him short for words. What could he even say to that? ‘Thanks’?

Luckily just then, Kairi spoke up.

Unluckily, it was to say goodnight before heading for the entrance of her hall, leaving Riku and Sora alone for the first time since the night of the party.

Sora seemed to remember it, too.

“Hey, so um… was your shirt okay after the party?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, it was fine. The stain washed right out,” said Riku as they fell back into step, heading towards their respective halls.

“Sorry about that. Again,” Sora replied, rubbing the back of his head. “I don’t usually go bumping into people so, uh, forcefully. At least, I try not to.”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Riku, wishing he could think of more to say. Or something interesting to ask. But as always, his mind was drawing blanks around Sora. Sora didn’t seem to have much to say, either. They walked on in silence for a couple of minutes until they finally reached Sora’s building.

“Well… this is my stop,” said Sora, bouncing his weight from foot to foot. “Thanks again for coming out with me and Kairi today. I know it was probably a huge hassle, but I had a great time.”

“Yeah, I Had fun with you guys, too,” said Riku, smiling. Sora’s grin widened.

“We should do this again sometime. You know, some weekend when you’re not catching up on sleep,” suggested Sora, and Riku had to admit that he kind of looked forward to the possibility of hanging out with Sora again like this.

“I’d like that,” said Riku, and Sora nodded before running off towards the entrance of his hall with a wave.

“Okay! See you later, Riku!”

He went inside, leaving Riku to walk the remainder of the path back to his room, mind swirling with the events of the day and Sora’s smile.

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on hushthenoise.tumblr.com or @hushthenoise on twitter!


End file.
